Sunday, June 27, 2010

Westport, WA

Pirates, pirates, pirates.  Well, that was fun. westport_wa_ 017

I left the Kila Hana Camperland campground early this morning to get a good parking place for my rig near the pirate vendors in Westport. Nice campground and tents and RVs.  But it did cost me $22.50 for the night, so I made sure to get a shower this morning.  The whole pirate gang of Maggie’s (Tori Bailey) was camped there.  Beware of the elephant-sized mosquitoes.  And I bought one of those blue bug things, the Off clip-on Mosquito Repellent,  advertized on T.V. and it works.  I hung it by my van door and they stopped coming inside.

What a neat little town and what a neat little festival.  I wanted to check out the vendors and I must say, they had a lot of real quality stuff at exceptionally low prices. 

westport_wa_ 030 westport_wa_ 026

westport_wa_ 025 westport_wa_ 024 westport_wa_ 023 westport_wa_ 021 westport_wa_ 011 Old salties.

westport_wa_ 018 funny little pirate boats…

I got to spend a little more time with my granddaughter and even found a graduation gift for her among the vendors… a wolf pendant.  She loved it.

westport_wa_ 015 westport_wa_ 014 westport_wa_ 013 WAIT FOR IT…..

 

WAIT….

 

 

westport_wa_ 012

Charlene Swankie VanVagrant (aka Baldie) and Ms. Maggie (aka Tori Bailey)

Then I pushed off… as I had not been feeling well since I inhaled the pirate’s black powder smoke yesterday… and drove to the nearby Westhaven State Park… a local favorite for local surfers.  Nice facilities, with outside shower to wash down surfers and their gear.  Very nice.  Beach loaded with agates and sand dollars… thousands of sand dollars.  Shallow water.  So far, this has been my favorite place since Morro Bay, CA.  Unfortunately, I was fighting a migraine and returned to the van for a nap.

westport_wa_ 010 dozens of surferswestport_wa_ 004 1,000s of sand dollars

westport_wa_ 002 wonderful little park

Wonder how great this would be if the sun was out???

What an interesting place… this Westport-Aberdeen, WA area.  Ocean Spray Cranberry is located here… and there are cranberry bogs!  Oyster shell piles, streets with pirate names, lots of homes and land for sale, Tsunami Warning signs everywhere.  And awhile ago a bunch of bicyclers/campers rode by me… or poor people… the skeeters here are the size of elephants.  BUT… everyone looks like they are having fun. Arrrrggghhhh.

Westport even has an Annual Fishing Derby…

westport_wa_ 019

I’m resting now in a 24-hr Safeway Store lot… and will go in to resupply in a little while.  Headache is subsiding.  Uggghhhhh!  Tomorrow to explore the west coast of Washington more as I make my way up to Port Angeles, WA to kayak with my dear friend, Gary, visit Ron, and then over to Bremerton, WA to visit Lauren and order a Paracord belt (in pink in honor of my sister who is doing chemo).  Now I have no hair but I have a pink hat and will have a pink belt.  What more can I do from 3,000 miles away?

Vandwellers, this is a van-friendly area, a dog-friendly beach… and just a great place to visit.  Get’s my stamp of approval.

Who is Swankie?

My photo
Anywhere, USA, Full-Time USA traveler, United States
In 2006, I was shopping for a wheelchair. By 2007, I had new knees, better health and by 2008 a kayak. In Aug 2013, I kayaked my 49th state, Alaska, at the Holgate Glacier and in May 2014, I kayaked Hawaii, my 50th state, to celebrate my 70th Birthday and the finale to the wonderful adventure of Kayaking America? Next up... Solo Hiking the Arizona Trail, 820 miles? Maybe. Still healing from shoulder and trying to decide.

Followers: